I don’t know if you've realised I love starting my posts with a short story of how the recipe was born.
Well, dear, in this case I just wanted something red or purple to match the most popular colours of this period - you know, Valentine's Day - and I also wanted to develop a beetroot soup recipe that wasn’t too sweet.
Allow me to introduce you the best beet soup you will ever have: not too sweet, with the right touch of spiciness and earthiness!
What does beet soup taste like?
Fun fact: I almost used to "hate" beets. I've always seen mom eating them, but I had never had the courage to try them.
In recent years though, I started eating them and liking them.
Beetroot has an earthy flavour, that you either do like or don't. If you cook it, it tastes sweet.
Therefore, this beet soup tastes...sweet!
WAIT! Though it has this particular flavour, you can easily transform a dish by balancing out (in fact, this beet soup doesn't only taste sweet, but also sour and spicy!)
How? Read next paragraph.
How to make a balanced beet soup
Do you know that... I've tried to make a decent beetroot soup for quite a few times? And do you know that every time I ended up disliking it?
Yep. As soon as I started liking and eating beets, I started messing up with unbalanced preparations lol good job, Roby.
Anyway, I then found out I was simply not balancing the flavors. Cooking my beets and simply blending them with a bit of water and/or milk and salt was basically just like making a smoothie. Problem was: I wanted a soup, not a smoothie.
So, if you're wondering how we can "create" balance in a dish like this, just think of its flavour first (earthy and sweet), and then of its opposite (sour and/or salty).
A typical pairing is goat cheese, but I didn’t want to use it (although you can crumble it on top, on the finished dish).
In this case instead, to balance sweetness, I've used balsamic vinegar and ginger. The first gives sourness, the latter gives a bit of spiciness.
I then wanted to give a nutty crunchy touch so I added almonds. Thyme is just an extra (skip it if you want).
And that's how the best beet soup ever was created, by combining different flavors.
FOR A VEGAN VERSION:
Omit yogurt.
Are beets good for you?
YES YES YES. Please remember I'm not a nutritionist, but I can tell you for sure that beets are so good for our bodies.
They are such an amazing source of minerals (just like iron) and vitamins.
The website where I love informing myself on (it's called INRAN - National Research Institute on Food and Nutrition), says beets are remineralizing (they're rich in minerals!, antioxidants and amazing for those suffering from anemia, just to say a few.
Guess what, they're perfect if you have a cold (but remember they're not a remedy)! So comforting!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to give it a rating and leave a comment! It would make me so happy! 🙂
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Don’t forget to pin and share this easy and delicious recipe!
GINGER BEET SOUP
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 5 gr Fresh ginger (minced)
- ½ Onion (sliced) - (about 70 gr)
- 270 gr Potatoes
- 450 gr Hot water
- 300 gr Cooked beetroot
- 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar - (or apple cider vinegar)
- to taste Salt
To garnish:
- 30 gr Greek yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard
- Thyme
- Almonds
- Black pepper
Instructions
- In a pan, heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil then make your onion and ginger lightly fry until golden.
- Add potatoes cut into cubes (with no skin on) and let them brown for a few minutes.
- Add 250 gr of hot water and cover with a lid. Cook until potatoes are tender.
- When cooked, blend them with cooked beets, a pinch of salt and the remaining hot water.
- Blend until creamy then add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
- This beet soup is velvety and smooth, but feel free to add more water if you want a more liquid consistency.
To garnish:
- Make a sauce using greek yogurt and a bit of mustard.
- Garnish with thyme, sliced almonds and black pepper.
Nutrition
Do you like soups?
Check out my easy vegetarian French onion soup!
Please try it because it's seeeeriosuly scrumptious and addictive!
© Healthy Little Cravings – Roberta Dall’Alba.
I own all content and photos’ copyright.
Before using my photos and recipes, please email me.
If you would like to republish a recipe, please link back to this post and re-write the instructions in your own words.
Nihan Parlak says
ı cooked this soup today and it turned out delicious. Thank you fot the recipe 🙂
healthyLC says
Hi Nihan! You made my day!
<3
Roberta